Forward in Christ
The Broom Closet
Philosophy Santa Fe Church and Pastor Learning Together to Share Life and God’s Love
Tiago Arrais can spot the signs of a healthy church inside of its broom closet rather than the pews. As both the son and grandson of pastors, Arrais has experienced firsthand the positive and negative elements that can be found in a church community. Now, he is a first-time pastor at the Advent Life Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His guiding philosophy is deceptively simple: Unity in Christ. “When we open the locker after potluck, and there are no more brooms because everybody took one to help clean, that’s the sign of a healthy community,” says Arrais. “The sign of a healthy church is that people are willing to do the lesser roles. “Unity in Christ… it means that the center, the basis, the direction of everything we do is centralized in Christ, and in what Jesus has done.” Arrais didn’t always have this mindset. After studying theology in Brazil, Arrais went on to study for a masters, then a Ph.D. in Old Testament and Christian Philosophy at Andrews University. Afterwards, he returned to Brazil as a teacher. Yet, rather than teaching philosophy, he taught the gospels. In teaching, he reread the gospels and began his own journey of discovering unity in Christ. After some time, Arrais felt called to become a pastor. His brother, Andre, was the pastor of a church in Albuquerque, and told him that Santa Fe needed a pastor. God opened the door for Arrais to become that pastor. “So, the pieces started falling into place,” says Arrais. “What I’m sharing now is a learning journey.” The Advent Life Church, formerly
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Santa Fe and Rancho Viejo Seventh-day Adventist Churches, soon began to see change from their learning journey, as well. It all started with Bible study. Rather than study a broad range of topics, Arrais focused specifically on the gospel in his preaching. He spoke for 39 Sabbaths during 2020. By the end of the year, they had covered the first eleven chapters of Matthew. “I wanted to see the church go slowly through the gospel to truly understand what Jesus accomplished,” says Arrais. In addition, every Tuesday night, the church studies the book of James. Every Thursday night, they fellowship with prayer meetings. In addition, Arrais writes a weekly newslet-
